York Supervisors Extend Exemptions

May 05, 1989

York — The Board of Supervisors voted thursday to make more elderly residents exempt from real estate taxes and increase the maximum exemption from $400 to $500.

the county previously granted tax exemptions of up to $400 to elderly (65 or older) or permanently disabled residents with household income less than $15,000 and net worth less than $50,000. Net worth exempts a house and up to an acre of land.

Under the limits approved thursday, the county will grant exemptions up to $500 when household income is less than $15,000 and net worth less than $75,000. A $350 exemption will be granted when income is between $15,000 and $18,000, and a $250 discount will be given when income is between $18,000 and $22,000.

Last year, 282 york taxpayers qualified for exemptions averaging $250 each, said Joseph Rigo, Commissioner of Revenue. The county collected almost $12 million in real estate taxes and lost only $79,000 by granting the exemptions.

The new exemptions will not have a great fiscal impact, Rigo added.

Supervisor Jere Mills, who asked his colleagues to make more elderly residents eligible for tax relief, originally proposed that the county collect the taxes from heirs of the elderly and disabled. He dropped the deferment idea after Rigo and other officials said it would drive people from the program.

"That's the last thing i want to do," Mills said. "I want to increase the limits ... and help some elderly residents of the county. That's the bottom line."